Editor’s note: The Coalition on Human Needs issued the following statement Thursday in response to new state and local data released by the Census Bureau.
Not everyone is benefiting from economic growth. New state and local survey data from the Census Bureau show a poverty rate of 13.1 percent in 2018, down from 13.4 percent over the previous year. While the downward trend is good news, the data continue to show troubling disparities. Income inequality rose nationwide. More than 30 percent of all people in the U.S. have incomes less than twice the federal poverty line (just under $40,000 a year for a family of 3). In 24 states and Puerto Rico, at least 30 percent of people had incomes this modest – above poverty, but on the edge.
Read the CHN statement here
